The way that the Mr. Men are spontaneously playful resembles the way that real people can be silly and playful sometimes. And because of this, there's a heartwarming quality to some moments in the series. For example, at one point Miss Calamity is fearful of pulling a giant balloon through the parade. Mr. Tickle tells her not to worry since he'll be right there to tickle her. Miss Calamity laughs and finally agrees. In fact, it seems to be a trademark talent of Mr. Tickle to be able to break the tension in any episode.
Little Miss Scary is a particular favorite of mine in this series. Always trying to scare people, her attempts often fall humorously flat. She introduces Mr. Tickle to the "Garden of Fear," which turns out to be a small patch of cacti (scary because of the prickly needles if one should get too close). It's Miss Scary's overdramatic presentation that really makes it funny.
In fact, the voice acting is consistently good for such a simple kid's show. Of course, everyone behaves according to their name. Mr. Grumpy is sour and impatient, Mr. Happy finds happiness in every experience, Little Miss Daredevil lives for excitement, etc. Even with their silly personalities, they don't sound like dumbed down cartoon voices. It really feels like the actors put effort into creating lively and unique personalities for each character.
This series has been adapted so it doesn't feel like you're listening to someone read a book, but it is still a very simple kid's show. The animation is clean and colorful, with textured backgrounds reminiscent of 60's pop art - a theme that so many modern kid's shows like to copy. It's a love it or hate it style for me, and I personally don't like the style, but it is at least nicely done. Being a show for young children, of course there are song sequences, but they are very brief. Stories are simple, and mostly just a matter of one thing happening after another rather than something with a beginning, middle, and end. As nice as the effort behind the voices are, it may be hard for adults to stay tuned in because of the simplicity.
In addition to the 6 episodes, there are also some bonus activities. The "How to Draw Mr. Tickle" activity is particularly good, and features a narrated step-by-step guide to drawing the character. There is also a "Find Mr. Tickle" game in which you have to count how many copies of him that you can find in a picture. Some of the activities here are simply extra songs or videos about the character. You're also prompted to insert the DVD into your computer for more games, but this simply brings you to the official website. It would have been nice to have some of these web games stored on the disc for those who don't have access to the internet. A final bonus is the mini full color storybook that features a story about Mr. Tickle. These bonus games and the book are also consistent with the ones you find on the Little Miss Sunshine Presents: Fun in the Sun! DVD, so it would seem that all the DVDs in this series are going to have the same activities, just tailored to each featured character.
